Until the 1970s, most Americans solely watched free-to-view TV that was broadcast over the airwaves to an aerial. Networks were funded by advertising, so they focused on shows that appealed to as broad an audience as possible.
However, the growth of cable TV in the late 1970s allowed a new business model to develop, based on pay-TV channels where viewers paid a monthly subscription. This enabled the launch of television channels aimed at a smaller segment of the population.
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